The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for determining characteristics of staple fiber yarn.
Staple fiber yarns are produced by various spinning processes, resulting in differing structures and characteristics. One type of spinning is open end spinning, which produces a yarn having a main strand covered by wrapper fibers that imposes constrictions of various lengths randomly disposed over the length of the yarn. Another type of spinning is air spinning, which produces a yarn having fibers in a somewhat parallel orientation with strength provided by wrapper fibers. Yet another type of spinning is friction spinning, which produces a yarn having a somewhat random fiber orientation.
Because of the different characteristics obtained by the different spinning processes, it is advantageous to know the characteristics of a yarn for appropriate further processing and appropriate fabric usage.